Time’s right to prune fruit trees

Thu., Feb. 26, 2015

Mother Nature is playing games with us right now. First, unseasonable warm weather began to make gardeners think it was time to start spring chores. Then, last weekend a reminder that she is still in charge with a couple of nights of 18-degree weather. The fluctuation makes it tough to plan what to do in the garden.

Given that we are nearly into March, our focus should be on pruning fruit trees and getting dormant sprays on. Apples, pears and plums benefit from the removal of crossing branches and tall sucker branches. Suckers usually grow from the top branches of a tree that doesn’t have a strong leader or center stem. Remove all but three or four of the suckers. The remaining suckers tell the tree that it does have a leader and reduces the number of suckers produced in the future.

Apply dormant oil early this month before buds begin to swell. If the warm weather keeps up buds may start breaking a few weeks ahead of schedule. Dormant oil is a highly refined petroleum oil that coats overwintering insects such as scale, mites and insect eggs, suffocating them before they emerge to do damage. Dormant oils should be applied with a sprayer when temperatures are expected to be above freezing (35-45F) and the weather forecast calls for nonfreezing temperatures for at least 24 hours after application. Peach and nectarines need an application of dormant oil with lime-sulfur or a copper based fungicide to prevent peach leaf curl. Both need to be applied before the buds begin to swell to avoid damage to new growth. Read and follow label directions on the spray containers.

Daffodil, snow drops and several other early bulbs are popping up with the warmer weather. The bulbs usually send up a little growth to test the weather and will then sit until it’s warm enough to send up flower buds. The tips of the leaves might get a little cold-burnt but the flower bud below ground won’t be damaged.

Now is a great time to transplant conifers and other evergreens. The soil is fairly dry and the conifer’s shallow roots will be easy to dig. Prepare a dish-shaped hole that is two to three times the diameter of, and as deep as the root ball. Set the tree in the new hole so that the point where the trunk flares into the roots is at the soil surface and backfill with native soil. If your hose is unavailable soak the tree roots with a couple of five-gallon buckets of water.

A couple of adventurous gardeners I know have already planted peas, spinach and kale on the bet that March will be warmer than usual. All of these are very cold-tolerant vegetables so maybe the bet will pay off. Just keep the tarp or floating row cover handy in case Mother Nature storms back in and sends us the last hurrah of winter.

Pat Munts is the co-author of “Northwest Gardener’s Handbook.” She and co-author Susan Mulvihill are available for talks on gardening in the Northwest. Munts has gardened in Spokane Valley for more than 35 years. She can be reached at pat@inlandnwgardening.com.